San Diego Comic-Con International 2006 Report #1

I wish that I could make this report longer, but I am going to have to be brief in order to help out with helping customers. Things are so busy at this year's convention that the Wednesday Preview Night, which is limited to dealers, pros, and fans who have purchased four day passes in advance, is now just as busy as Saturdays were only a couple of years ago. The lines at our two cash registers were so long within 20 minutes of the doors opening, that I began selling books directly off of my little table where I greet all my friends. To give you an idea of just how crazy this show has become, I sold over $100 in Fathom trade paperbacks, at $5 @, within about half an hour. That may not sound like much, but bear in mind that I was only accepting cash, and that we also had two registers running nonstop from the minute that fans came in the door. I may be overestimating, but I am guessing that our sales will be up this evening by over 100% from this same evening last year!

One phenomena that I noticed at this year's show that I wanted to be sure and pass on to you is that the enthusiasm level in the hall has ramped up to nearly palpable levels this year. Never, ever, in my entire 36-year history as a comics dealer have I heard fans screaming and cheering as they surged into the hall in a huge mob at the opening bell. I've discussed this reaction with several of my friends who have attended previous San Diego conventions, and they all concur that this year's show has already exceeded any previous experience that we've ever had. What a rush! The closest comparison that I can draw to what's happening here is the excitement generated that existed when we stood in line for hours to view the original STAR WARS, waaay back in 1977. It's almost like being at an event like Woodstock, where the combined enthusiasm of tens of thousands of people creates a nearly a sustaining firestorm of positive energy. That may sound to you like just a lot of hype and overwritten prose, but if you were here, I think that you'd be hard pressed to disagree. Other cities host splendid comics conventions (several of which are actually better straight up comics shows than San Diego has now become), but nothing else in the world exists that brings into congruence all of the popular culture worlds with such an astounding synergistic effect.

I'm going to stop writing now, and let you check out a couple of pictures that Pam took of the crowd. Just imagine how busy and crowded things are going to be on Saturday afternoon, if we're already seeing huge numbers of fans on Wednesday night. The photo of our booth give you a pretty clear idea of just how many books we brought this year. I may be wrong, but I think that the inventory that we brought to this show of Marvel and DC trade paperbacks and hardbacks actually exceeds that of any other display in all of comics convention history. After just three hours, however, some of our shelves are already showing significant holes. I have to wonder if we still have any books for sale on Sunday...